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Education

At Brasier Freeth we recognise that no two buildings are alike and, indeed, the same can be said for our clients’ needs. Our Team works with a number of educational establishments including; nurseries, colleges, training centres, primary, secondary and academy schools.

Our expert Chartered Surveyors work with our education clients to help them maintain their assets in sound working order; surveying their properties, assessing future needs, minimising their costs including rates liabilities and ultimately ensuring they are fit for purpose.

In recent years we have been instructed to carry out a number of Valuations for Academy Schools – more information can be found on this in the case study below.

Case Study – Cornelius Vermuyden School

In 2013 Cornelius Vermuyden School on Canvey Island, was granted Academy status. This necessitated the need to have an asset valuation undertaken of the school premises.

Following instructions from the school in November 2014, our Surveyors attended the site to undertake a valuation of the long leasehold interest. A ‘Depreciated Replacement Cost’ (DRC) valuation was necessary for this type of property, as there was no active market for the asset being valued and no useful or relevant evidence of recent sales transactions of similar properties with which to compare.

In a DRC valuation a comparison is made between the school’s actual asset and a hypothetical substitute. This involved assessing all the costs of replacing the school with a ‘modern equivalent asset’. The school (built in 2010-2102) comprises 110,000 sq ft of buildings, comprising a range of classrooms, a main school hall, library, sports hall, offices, canteen and a number of laboratories. The total site area is 38 acres.

Having established the building replacement cost the figure then needed to be adjusted for depreciation to reflect the differences between the modern equivalent and the actual school. The depreciation takes account of physical deterioration, together with functional and economic obsolescence.

A notional site value has to be added to the overall valuation, with the school playing fields being treated differently to the site of the main buildings.

Our client was provided with a comprehensive valuation report that assisted them with the completion of their annual accounts. In addition to this we were also able to provide an insurance reinstatement valuation suitable for their insurers.

Since the Academies Act came into force in 2010, our Valuers and Surveyors have worked with a number of schools across the region, undertaking valuations and surveys for accounts and insurance purposes.